Rec league--play to win or not--how would you handle this situation?

[sluggers]

There was some discussion about "playing to win" in rec ball...

This isn't a hypothetical. This happened to me when coaching a rec league team:

Suzy is a great hitter, possibly the second best on the team. She is a good fielder. She gets to the game either right when it starts or 5 minutes late. She misses every other practice, and, when she isn't hitting or fielding, she sits with her Mom on the bench behind the dugout.

Sally is mentally and physically challenged. She can't hit, catch or throw a ball. She shows up for the game 30 minutes ahead of time and never misses a game or a practice. She has struck out 20 times in a row.

Game 6 of a 12 game season, and Suzy gets dropped off by mom, and strolls over the dugout just as you are making up the lineup. Suzy is the last person to arrive for the game. Suzy usually bats 3rd or 5th and plays the entire game. Sally has been there since you arrived at the ballpark. Sally usually bats 12th out of 12 and plays about half the game.

The league has a continuous batting rule, so everyone gets to bat, and every player gets to play at least two innings.

So, what do you do? An extra star if you can guess what I did.

 

[andyh64000]

How old are the girls?

If they are 10u or younger (maybe 12u) I would move Sally up the lineup every other game and lead her off at least once (batting first is such a thrill for girls...especially one who loves to play but is not very good). I would find out what her absolute favorite position was and play her there at least one inning every other game (unless it was pitcher, catcher or first base in which case I would give her one full inning during the season). Girls like Sally are why rec exists...she should be rewarded.

In this game I would bat Sally 5th and Suzy last.

Can Sally bunt and does she ever walk?

 

[Coach JV]

Bat Suzy last bring her in off the bench. It is not fair to rec player Sally to be punished for
lack of skill. REC BALL..........

 

[pbent67]

I think Susy and Sally need to be "batting/fielding buddies" and maybe some good will come of it. Most kids are empathetic with other kids. I'm betting that Susy would enjoy being part of something greater than herself by helping Sally. Of course, I don't know if Susy is a bully or her temperament.

 

[stephanie]

anyone who misses the last game, or shows up after I tell them to...they sit out first.
With a kid with this attitude (the bad one) I would have her bat last. Suzy sounds like she needs to sit out every other inning, too...
Sally? I'd let her play as much as she could handle, as long as it doesn't start to interfere with the other 10 players you haven't mentioned. I assume they are trying hard too...
Where to bat Suzy? 6th or 7th.

Now, someone said that girls LOVE to bat first...I want your players!! I finally had to bat my DD first, because the rest of them spaz when I put them there. My dd is a freak...she doesn't get stage fright, so for her it's not a biggie, but she's the 2nd best hitter on my team right now...I hate hitting her first, but at least it gets the game off to a good start.

 

[Dusty]

And the correct answer is.....

If they show up late, whoever they are, they get put at the bottom of the order and get the less than ideal fielding assignments. If they work hard but stink, they still mostly bat last but will sometimes make guest appearances as high as 3 but usually somewhere around 5-6 and also get some playing time at a position like 2b, where if they happen to field a ball they are more likely to complete the short pass to 1b for the out.

Yes, you can do all this and still win! Imagine, basking in the glow of victory and drinking in the love and adulation of your parents and players alike knowing that you didn't have to sell your soul to achieve such rec league immortality. "But Dusty, how?" you're probably asking your computer screen. Well, for three easy pay-pal payments of....

Competent pitching is the answer. It doesn't have to be anything remotely resembling greatness but competent pitching is the trump card at all levels of rec play. I was just there this time last year and it already feels like a lifetime ago.

 

[fivepotsogold]

12 on a team... 6 innings ... everyone sits one inning.

We have a minimum 2 innings in infield rule as well ... every players gets 2 innings infield every game.
No one but pitcher gets more than three in one position each game, either.
This "encourages" coaches to develope players infield/outfield ...
It seems to be working the majority of the time ... we generally have a strong middle school and HS team.

Sally should sometimes go first ... only really matters first inning most of the time ... but if she is there all the time ... then she should not be last all the time.

Maybe chat with Suzy's Mom ... it is entirely possible they aren't being rude, just clueless.
We have rules about no food no parents, no friends in dugout .. only reasons to be leaving dugout are bathroom and injury/health. But we still have Mommy or Daddy checking on their kid (OMG at 11 and 12 years old?) or friends hanging out in dugout ...

I always found it fun to move kids and let them try different positions .. I was happily surprised on numerous plays and never really unhappy when it didn't work out ...after all that was my fault, not theirs.

 

[TimothyJ]

Sally has been there since you arrived at the ballpark. Sally usually bats 12th out of 12 and plays about half the game.

12 kids, 12 games?.. Sally would only bat 12th once on my team ( depending on age, as others have said..mine are 10u rec)

I find it kind of hard to punish kids based on what time they arrive at games/practices.. None of my players drive

Over our season, I'll let every kid try any position they want..with the exception of first base. I've found a strong player at first makes a WORLD of difference, and makes everyone else better, because they can throw a ball to first without worrying if it will be caught or not. They take chances that they might not otherwise, and they have made some AMAZING plays in the field because they took those risks.

Even pitching. I have four 10 yr olds, and they do the bulk of the pitching. The 9 yr olds are given the chance to "try it", or "work on it" in preparation for next year. They get to face 3 batters in a game. No more, no less. This has worked well for us this year because they aren't afraid that they'll blow a game if they only face 3 batters..one of the others will come in and mop up for them. At the beginning of the year, only one or two wanted to try it.. After I announced the 3 hitters rule, the rest of them told me they'd like to try pitching. We have 6 games left, and only 2 (out of 11 players) that haven't tried pitching yet ( and they'll go in the next 2 games)

All of the younger ones understand that they're learning this year, and next year will be their turn to be a "starter" if they work on it. Kids are happy with it, parents love it, it's really worked out well for us.

 

[SnocatzDad]

There was some discussion about "playing to win" in rec ball...

This isn't a hypothetical. This happened to me when coaching a rec league team:

Suzy is a great hitter, possibly the second best on the team. She is a good fielder. She gets to the game either right when it starts or 5 minutes late. She misses every other practice, and, when she isn't hitting or fielding, she sits with her Mom on the bench behind the dugout.

Sally is mentally and physically challenged. She can't hit, catch or throw a ball. She shows up for the game 30 minutes ahead of time and never misses a game or a practice. She has struck out 20 times in a row.

Game 6 of a 12 game season, and Suzy gets dropped off by mom, and strolls over the dugout just as you are making up the lineup. Suzy is the last person to arrive for the game. Suzy usually bats 3rd or 5th and plays the entire game. Sally has been there since you arrived at the ballpark. Sally usually bats 12th out of 12 and plays about half the game.

The league has a continuous batting rule, so everyone gets to bat, and every player gets to play at least two innings.

So, what do you do? An extra star if you can guess what I did.

Was this early in your coaching career or late. If I have to guess what you did, I need to know where you were on the learning curve. Based on your post Suzy has already been showing up late and batting 3rd or 5th and Sally has been showing up on time or early and batting last so I am guessing this is early in your career when you were focused on winning REC games and you put Suzy 5th or 3rd and kept Sally 12th. It's possible this was a moment of epiphany when you realized that there are more important things in life than winning a REC softball game, but that moment comes at different times for all of us.

 

[mudbug]

even in rec Suzy should be picking splinters the first half of the game for showing up late. If not there on time, meaning before the team warms up, you dont start.

To make a statement to Suzy and the rest of the team, play and bat Sally in her spot.